Clemson, SC — Clemson 2014 freshmen Chris Register and Richard Yeargin are two of the five finalists for the Watkins Award. The honor is given by the National Alliance of African American Athletes each year and will be presented this weekend in Washington, DC.

The Watkins Award gives recognition to an exceptional male African American student-athlete who has set an example to promote high academic standards and commitment to community service.

Register, a native of Browns Summit, NC, enrolled at Clemson in January and is currently a freshman on Dabo Swinney’s Tiger football team. Yeargin, a native of Lauderdale Lakes, FL, will enroll at Clemson this summer.

The other finalists are Tony Brown of Beaumont, TX, who signed with Alabama; Zavier Carmichael of Eight Mile, AL, who signed with Duke; and Robert Okereke, Santa Ana, CA, who signed with Stanford.

Previous winners of the award that dates to 1992 include Myron Rolle of Florida State (2006), Darius Walker of Notre Dame (2004) and Ronald Curry of North Carolina (1998).